Army Corps says condition of  levees unknown

Residents of the tony St. Louis suburb of Chesterfield, Mo., already know what happens if the Monarch Levee breaks.

It happened in 1993, sending the Missouri River surging into the region known as the Chesterfield Valley. Within hours, muddy water reached the rooftop at the popular Annie Gunn's restaurant — seven miles from the river.

In those days, Annie Gunn's was among a few businesses in the valley. Today, the area is home to dozens of big box stores, shopping centers and high-end restaurants.

Small levee overcome by rain
The development came after the Monarch levee was rebuilt to protect against a 500-year flood, meaning an area has a 1-in-500 chance of being flooded to a certain level in any given year. But David Human, a lawyer for the Monarch district, said there are still small sections of the levee that fall short.

"By fall, we expect 98 percent of the levee system will be at the 500-year level of protection. But guess what? That's not 100 percent," Human said.

Flooding in March nearly wiped out tiny Dutchtown, a community of 99 residents in southeast Missouri. Several waterways — the Castor and Whitewater rivers and Hubble Creek — flow into what's known as the diversion channel there. Torrential rain caused a quick rise in water that tore through a small, private levee.

Weeks after the flood, residents are still ripping out water-soaked carpet and ruined furniture, cleaning debris from their yards, and power-washing mud caked from cars and siding.

"It was so much water at one time, and the levee couldn't handle it," resident Robert Reed, 72, said.

Halpin knows that another major flood would be more than many levees could handle.

"It's not a question of if it will happen. It's a question of when and where it will happen," he said. "There are a lot of vulnerable spots in this country."

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